by Diana Peterfreund
Hardcover, 402 pages
Published June 12th 2012 by Balzer + Bray
ISBN 0062006142 (ISBN13: 9780062006141)


Blurb

It’s been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot’s estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society … or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she’s lost him forever.

The Good

  1. Religion vs Technology.  The constant war between religious beliefs and new emerging technologies is an issue artfully woven through every aspect of this book. More importantly, I think it’s an issue that is particularly relevant for us to consider today (think stem cell research). This argument and the struggles/choices of the characters was interesting and fun, but also thought-provoking.

  2. The romance.  The romance progressed realistically and felt real. There was no instalove, the characters had genuine, heartfelt reasons to be attracted to one another. For those who like YA romance but don’t like its predictability will enjoy the love story this author presents (albeit a retelling of a Jane Austen novel).

  3. The emotions.  The character’s emotions and their reactions to situations in the novel were very well-written. At the end of the novel I felt like I really knew the characters as people, not just as plot devices.

  4. The choice.  The ultimate choice that Elliot faces at the end of the novel was wonderful. I have not read the original work by Jane Austen, but I am sure it was equally compelling.


Favorite Quote

"As mournful as his last piece had been, it was utterly eclipsed by the melodies reeling off his fiddle now, as if he could exorcise his pain if only he could find the proper chord progression."


Overall Rating